‘Beyond Dire’: With marker in hand, West Virginia’s new governor delivers unconventional State of the State
In what may have been the most unconventional State of the State address in West Virginia history, Gov. Jim Justice warned that the state’s situation is “beyond dire” and that the Legislature must work with him to take bold steps — including $450 million in tax increases in the short-term […]
Not so fast: 84 Lumber Super Bowl ad enrages, amazes, then confuses America
The Pennsylvania company 84 Lumber may have gotten more than it bargained for with their pro-immigration (or was it anti-immigration?) Super Bowl ad. Responses initially fell along political lines, condemned by some #MAGA viewers as condoning illegal immigration, while #NotMyPresident viewers gave a salute of respect for what they saw as the brand’s pro-immigration stance. And then […]
These Republican and Democrat millennials show us how to get along
Broken friendships and strained relations have become a common story of today’s political divide. Millennials Anissa Coury and Jordan Ball offer a different perspective. Coury, 27, is a Republican who voted for Donald Trump. She is the executive director for the American Congress of Real Estate of Pittsburgh, and is […]
‘It’s about choice,’ says supporter of education secretary Betsy DeVos
Martin and Georgia West have been married 41 years and live in their native county of McDowell, in southern West Virginia. Martin West, 62, has worked in the mining industry, been the county magistrate and now serves as the county’s sheriff and treasurer. He’s also the pastor at the Pentecostal […]
Do the math: Two-for-one regulation plan could cripple safety protections
Suppose the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration wanted to finally update its decades-old rule on exposure to silica dust to help protect coal miners from the rising threat of deadly lung disease. Fine. As long as MSHA officials are ready to get rid of two other rules — like […]
Trump promises jobs, but Appalachia needs more
President Donald Trump won West Virginia and other Appalachian states by promising to bring back the kinds of jobs that once provided a middle class lifestyle. Those jobs were in coal mines, steel mills, chemical plants and manufacturing plants. For a time in the late 1970s and early 1980s, before […]
The true cost of a wall may ultimately fall on small business owners
Alfredo Gomez moved to America 23 years ago. The owner of Casa Fiesta and Casa Café has raised three boys in Richmond, Kentucky, a town of approximately 35,000 people. “I like the way my family grows here,” Gomez said. He has made a life for himself in Central Kentucky and […]
‘It could be me next,’ warns Jimmy Pan
Jimmy Pan, 27, is a first-year student at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in Lewisburg, W. Va. He’s originally from Hong Kong, and now calls Charlotte, N.C. home. Pan says he’s voted in three presidential elections, but this time his pick was not the winner. He took a break […]
Send Syrian refugees to rural America
Rural America is falling further behind. Farms don’t need farmers. Manufacturing moved offshore. And the rate of rural kids living in poverty is worse than it is in the inner cities. Here’s a solution. Let’s take in the Syrian refugees. Make them rural Americans. As many as we can feed. I […]
‘Who’s next?’: Biracial, LGBT college student joins hundreds to protest immigration ban
West Virginia native and WVU law student Brian Gardner defines himself as a biracial, LGBT religious minority. He’s also a rural expat from a hometown so small, Antioch, West Virginia, that the U.S. Census Bureau does not keep data on it. Gardner left home to become what many in rural communities now […]